The biggest gimmick of NBA publicity is that Yang Rui once again led the team to the Western Conference Finals, continuing the record of never missing the division finals since entering the NBA.

President David Stern was interviewed by reporters. "I think Jerry Young is the best basketball coach in the world and one of my best friends. We'd say hello in the playoffs and he'd say, 'David, I'm so sorry, I've swept this series again.'" I'll say, 'I don't like you. ’”

After speaking, Stern laughed, and he used this kind of joke to tell Yang Rui, give some face, and don't win the championship again.

Popovich, who was not interviewed before the game, cheered up the team and said, "Be tough, give your all, and if we eliminate the Clippers, we're going to win the championship." ”

On May 19, the first battle between the two sides began at the Staples Center.

When the players played, in addition to the wonderful goal highlights of the players, the big screen on the stadium also added the poisonous chicken soup that Yang Rui poured into people during the interview.

The reporter asked Yang Rui what he wanted to say to his opponent?

Yang Rui replied: "As long as you insist on training hard every day, correct your attitude of playing, play selfless team basketball, and play 100% of your strength, the final victory will definitely belong to the Clippers." ”

The female reporter was dumbfounded.

Yang Rui added: "It's too cruel to say this, I'll replace the last sentence." As long as you do this, you will win the championship sooner or later. (How late is this, and will you be able to catch up before retiring?) ）

Clippers starters: Paul, Danny Green, Korver, Griffin, Chandler.

Spurs starters: Parker, Maddy, Leonard, Dior, Duncan.

Rookie Fournier had a terrible playoff performance, poor defense, and inaccurate shooting, and Popovich didn't dare to use him.

Before the playoffs began, the Spurs cut Stephen Jackson. The Spurs' internal assessment of Jackson is that "the team will not tolerate anyone who goes against the team's plan".

Jackson has been really depressed lately, and he was also selected by Forbes magazine as one of the "Top 10 Highest-Paid Imbecile Players in the NBA this Season" during the season.

In fact, before this year's All-Star Game, Jackson said that he did not want to continue to stay with the Spurs, he and Popovich had a big disagreement on ball possession, although he is 35 years old, he is not willing to be an ordinary role player, often messing around, and poor shooting selection.

Jackson wanted to play for another team, but the Spurs management didn't cut him in the middle of the game, and if the Spurs had cut him earlier, he could have played for another team, and now he has to take a vacation.

The only good news for the Spurs is that Maddie was cut by the Hawks in the middle of the game. After joining the Spurs on a free transfer, he was in good shape, averaging 23 minutes per game, with 8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Maddie is in much better shape than Yang Rui in his previous life, and has always had a job in the NBA, but he has not been mixed into the bottom team of China's CBA.

In the NBA regular season, Maddy averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game in his career. He played in 73 playoff games, averaging 25.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

Of course, with such swing depth, the Spurs are clearly at a disadvantage compared to the Clippers.

The Clippers attacked first, and Paul held the ball outside the three-point line and patiently waited for his teammates to pull away. Chandler blocked down the middle, and Griffin went to the bottom right corner.

Paul drew Dio into a switch and played the ball down the middle. Chandler cut in the air and easily got the basketball by virtue of his height advantage, Parker couldn't defend against the big man, and Dior was also half a head shorter than Chandler.

Yang Rui aimed at the Spurs' lineup at the beginning, and Popovich usually let Dior start, because on Split, only Duncan can shoot on the inside, and it is difficult to open up space. And in the second quarter, if Dior and Bonner go together, then the defense can't look at it and can't protect the penalty area.

I don't want to see a big fight in the penalty area and score easily, Duncan can only retreat to help defend. In the regular season, Chandler was able to score 10.5 points and 9.9 rebounds, and his scoring was mainly based on open baskets.

Yesterday's Clippers practice, the main practice was a routine, that is, Chandler cut to the basket and distributed the ball to the outside, and Griffin would wait in the bottom right corner. Chandler saw Duncan coming, did not hesitate at all, did not see the ball distributed to the bottom corner, Griffin received the ball and immediately shot.

The tactical training of professional players is an extremely boring process, they will keep doing one thing thousands of times, and only by practicing more routines can they play tacit understanding.

Griffin's three-point shooting rate is not high, only 27.3% in the regular season, but Yang Rui requires him to shoot at least once per game, as long as he dares to shoot, there is a possibility of becoming stronger, if he keeps avoiding shooting three-pointers, he will not make progress, and will only become more and more hesitant to get the ball outside the three-point line.

In his previous life, the coach did not train Griffin well, always let him play with talent and rush to the basket, Yang Rui firmly believed that Griffin could practice shooting, in the 2017-18 season, he averaged 5 three-point shots per game, and the shooting rate once exceeded 40%, and the number of shots exceeded the sum of his previous career, when he was stronger.

The well-prepared Griffin got his hands on it, and the bottom corner three-pointers were closer to the basket than other positions, and it was easier for the ball to go in. 3 to 0.

Griffin smiled happily when he returned to the defense, and his confidence increased, as long as there was a good opportunity, he would definitely dare to shoot a second three-point shot in this game.

The Spurs attack, the Clippers defend man-marking, and Paul defends Parker.

Duncan sideways Parker, who forced his way to the basket from the left side, and the Clippers formed a contraction. Man markers can also shrink the help penalty area, and Chandler has this awareness. Paul chased from behind, and the two were in the middle.

Parker distributed the ball from the perimeter, Maddy hesitated to receive the ball, did not make an immediate shot, Korver blocked in front of him, and the opportunity was fleeting.

In the past, Maddie dared to pull out in the face of people taller than himself, but now he bounces and his speed drops, and the pull-out jump shot is no longer a stunt, he divides the ball to the middle to Dio, who does not attack Griffin in the face of it, and then looks for teammates to protect the ball.

With almost 24 seconds to go, Parker broke through the toss and missed under Chandler's interference, and the rebound was grabbed by Griffin.

In the Clippers positional battle, Paul slowly dribbled to the front court to protect the ball, waited for Chandler to cover, and broke through to the left.

Dio's current height and weight are about the same as James', but he has a lot of fat and doesn't move fast enough, and people will never see Dior chasing the opposing guard, or picking up the rebound, and overtaking the tomahawk to break through the opposite center with a tomahawk dunk.

He tried hard to switch to Paul and get stuck in the breakthrough route, but Paul still found an open space and passed the ball from Dior's side to the middle, and he didn't think Cashandler could do it anymore.

Chandler took a step forward with the ball, Duncan again put the defense in place, blocked Chandler away from the basket, Chandler again split the ball to the right corner, this time Leonard rotated in time and pounced on the bottom corner.

Griffin split the ball, Green received the ball at 70 degrees on the right side, Dior defended it in the middle, rotated in place, successfully interfered, the ball bounced out of the frame, and Duncan protected the rebound in the backcourt.

The Spurs are a team with veterans as the core, and they can't get up fast, and they fall into a positional battle, and the Clippers start to defend again, and they are not available for a few passes. Chandler guarded the penalty area, and the other four rotated around quickly.

After a misalignment and 24 seconds to go, Duncan hit a jumper in the face of Paul and hit it with a slight interference. 3 to 2.

Paul didn't lose his position, and Yang Rui gave him a few applause on the sidelines.

CCTV5 Zhang said reasonably: "Curry won the MVP, but he still came off the bench today, which is a major feature of the Clippers, and it can also be seen that their lineup is too strong." ”

Yu Jia said: "Yang Rui strengthened his defense in the first quarter, it is estimated that it is to consume the physical strength of the opponent's star, Duncan is 37 years old, it is difficult for him to ensure that he plays well throughout the game, and it is right to seek stability." ”